adminSince the fall of Muammar Gaddafi in October 2011, extremist Islamists have steadily gained influence.
Many such groups amassed formidable stocks of weapons during the uprising against Gaddafi’s regime.
The attack on the US consulate in Benghazi last September 11 that killed ambassador Chris Stevens and three other Americans proved just how powerful some of these groups had become.
“A number of groups in the region have a strong motive to attack the French embassy in Tripoli, not least Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) and other related militant Islamist groups such as the Movement for Oneness and Jihad in West Africa (MUJAO),” said Anthony Skinner, MENA director for risk analysts Maplecroft.
Armed jihadist groups such as MUJAO and AQIM had threatened to hit back at France’s interests in the region after they were targeted by French troops in Mali. Skinner said that Tuesday’s bombing, which wounded two French security guards, could have been a reprisal for their country’s offensive in Mali.
But for Fradj Naji, a Libyan analyst and head of the African Studies Centre, “it would be stupid just to focus on following the trail of jihadist groups like Al-Qaeda.” — AFP.
Online Reporter